During the opening round of the RBC Heritage, Henley used a rake
to shoo away a 10-foot alligator from the ball of his boss Brian
Gay on the 15th hole at Harbour Town Golf Links.

“I didn’t see any other option,” Henley said
Friday. “We had to get him out of there.”

It wasn’t the first time.

Just three weeks ago at the Transitions Championship, Henley
grabbed one by the tail -- though that episode was not captured by
television cameras, nor was the gator as large. Henley, who grew up
in Tennessee and still lives there, estimates that he’s
grabbed about five gators by the tail.

“I’m not afraid of them if they’re facing away
from you,” he said. “They won’t snap back around
at you. If they can get in the water they’ll take off. This
was the most stubborn one I’ve ever seen. I thought it might
be a bad time with the cameras on me for him to snap around and
actually get me.”

Gay, who missed the cut, joked he might not have minded if it
did.

“I didn’t want to see him get hurt, but I was hoping
he would so he wouldn’t do it again,” Gay said.
“What have you got to gain?”

In this case, not much. Gay went on to bogey the hole.

“I went down there to have a look,” said Tim Clark,
who was playing alongside Gay. “But yea, it wasn’t my
shot so I didn’t need to try to get rid of him.”

At least one member of the group wasn’t surprised by
Henley’s exploits.

“I felt sorry for that gator,” said veteran caddie
Keith Nolan. “I’ve seen him in action. I’m
surprised he didn’t turn him into a belt or a pair of
shoes.”